A Study of Ethical Issues in Advertising to Minors in the Digital Age

Abstract

Digital algorithms have deeply affected all aspects of human society, and also reconstructed the forms of advertisement expression and ethical level, among which the impact on minors is particularly profound. This paper firstly introduces the manifestations and types of advertising ethical problems related to minors in the digital era, and then analyzes the reasons for the emergence of advertising ethical problems of minors from the directions of insufficient external constraints of government departments, serious phenomenon of profit-seeking of capital in the advertising industry, and low threshold of advertising release on platforms. At the same time, it pionts out the negative impacts, such as the Tacitus Trap which disintegrate the public trust, and the manipulation and training of minors by trashy advertisements. Finally, it tries to put forward countermeasures and suggestions to deal with the ethical problems of minors’ advertisements.